Learning to Fly Again
by Schultzo
Summary: Hiccup is struggling with depression and anxiety. Toothless, feeling guilty, takes Hiccup on an adventure to try and help them both heal from the trauma of recent events. Content warning for How to Train Your Dragon 2 spoilers.


**- Content Warning for How to Train Your Dragon 2 Spoilers - **

Learning to Fly Again

Chapter One ~

"Hey Chief," shouted a familiar voice as an arm wrapped around Hiccup's shoulder. Thrown off balance, Hiccup tottered on his peg leg before yanking the offending arm off and pulling the attacker around to face him.

"Hello, Astrid," mumbled Hiccup, not looking her in the eye as he adjusted his leather amour and his riding harness. He wore the harness merely out of habit; since becoming the Chief he'd rarely gotten to ride Toothless outside of the village. Astrid punched him in the chest, making the mechanical fin spring out of his back. "Don't be so serious," whined Astrid, exaggerating a pout.

"I'm busy," muttered Hiccup, sighing as he wound up the spring crank on his chest. Normally he'd remind her not to be so rough with his invention because it wore out the metal, but he found he was just too tired to care anymore. She never listened to him anyways. When she simply hung off his arm, waiting for him to speak further, he shot her a forced smile. "I've got to work," he explained, gesturing vaguely towards the training pen. "We can hang out later, okay?" he said, gently removing her hand from his arm. She nodded with a tight smile and walked away without a word. Hiccup sighed. She just didn't understand how busy he was now that he was responsible for all of Berk. He liked her well enough; he said yes when she had officially asked him out after the defeat of Drago Bludvist, but things just weren't the way they were before. She was different now, or maybe he was -Hiccup didn't know- but things between them were stressed .

Before the threat of the dragon trappers, his relationship with Astrid was enjoyable. It had seemed so natural to hang out and flirt with her. Emotionally he shared almost everything with her. Physically, they had casual contact and kissed occasionally, but Hiccup didn't even notice how comfortable he had been with her before until recent events changed their relationship. Now he was painfully aware of her presence, and he recently began noticing little habits of hers that drove him crazy. When he tried to determine what exactly had changed he couldn't say what it was. It was just a feeling that something wasn't right.

He reached the dragon training pen, and saw his mother surrounded by a ring of energetic children. She had quickly settled into Berk by sharing her knowledge of dragons, and was especially popular with the young. Hiccup quickly looked away, feeling a twang of jealousy. He'd grown up without a mother, all because this woman cared more about dragons than about her own family. Sure, Hiccup could understand on some level -he would do almost anything for Toothless- but leaving an infant behind was incomprehensible. Hiccup couldn't imagine leaving his own family behind. He stared at his mother from a distance, trying to understand. She not only left him when he was a babe in arms, but also her husband. Hiccup knew first-hand how stubborn his father could be, but that didn't mean he deserved to be left behind to lead a village and raise a child alone. His mother should've come back to them so they could've been a family before it was too late.

Suddenly Hiccup realized tears were stinging his eyes. He turned his back to the training pen and darted through Berk, staying out sight while weaving his way to the outskirts of the village. When he was all alone in the forest, he lowered himself to the ground and curled up in a patch of soft grass. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, his chest shaking between shallow gasps of air. He needed to be strong for the village. Except nobody needed his strength. Hiccup reflected that everyone seemed to get over Stoick's death in no time. The fact that no one else was in mourning only intensified his own sorrows. He couldn't even find solace in his mother, who seemed to have recovered from Stoick's passing especially easily.

"Of course it was easy for her," Hiccup choked out bitterly, "She'd already given up on him once." Curling his fist in the long grass, he began tearing it up, tears freely running down the side of his face. He wanted his father back.


End file.
